Browsing by Author "Maruf Yinka KOLAWOLE"

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    OPTIMIZATION OF HHV AND ENERGY YIELD FROM TORREFACTION OF ALBIZIA ZYGIA WOOD- CALCIUM HYDROGEN PHOSPHATE CATALYST BLENDS USING OPTIMAL COMBINED DESIGN
    (University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technology, 2022-06-20) Kamoru Olufemi OLADOSU; Ayodeji Sulaiman OLAWORE; Abass Olanrewaju ALADE; Maruf Yinka KOLAWOLE
    The over-reliance on fossil fuels as a primary source of energy is partly responsible for the in crease in carbon dioxide (CO2), depletion of the ozone layer, and general environmental pollution. In this study, torrefaction of Albizia zygia wood-calcium hydrogen phosphate (CaHPO4) catalyst blends was carried out in a tubular furnace to examine the impacts of temperature, time, and particle size on higher heating value (HHV) and energy yield (EY). Albizia zygia wood was obtained at an industrial sawmill junkyard nearby Kwara State University, dried, crushed, and sieved into 1 – 3 mm particle size. Optimal Combined Design (OCD) was employed for the design, modelling, and optimization of HHV and EY under the ranges of selected temperature (200 – 300 °C), residence time (15 – 30 min), and particle size (1 – 3 mm) in an inert environment tubular furnace. The results of the analysis indicated that the temperature of 245 °C, time of 22 min, and size of the particle 3 mm yielded a maximum HHV of 19.59 MJ/Kg and EY of 76.37% respectively. Also, the addition of catalyst (CaHPO4) at 10% reduced the ash content but enhanced the fixed carbon content of the biochar. The mathematical models for the HHV and EY for the torrefaction using the OCD imply an excellent fit with R2 of 0.92 and 0.96, respectively. The prediction accuracy indicates that OCD can be deployed for the accurate prediction of HHV and EY in torrified biomass.
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    Production of Flamboyant Pod Nanoparticles as Emerging Reinforcements for Structural Composite Materials
    (Materials Research Forum LLC, Materials Research Proceedings 63 (2026) 64-71, 2026-01-01) Sefiu Adekunle BELLO; Maruf Yinka KOLAWOLE; Musa Opeyemi ABDULLAHI; Blessing OGBONAYA; Ayodele Gabriel IDOWU; John Olu OMOTOSHO; Sunday Wilson BALOGUN
    Dynamic changes in environmental conditions had necessitated continuous research towards the development of innovative structural composites with enhanced properties. To produce functional concrete-based composites, there is a need for structural modification using reinforcing fillers that could improve the strength and toughness of the composites. Agricultural exercise creates many nonedible components which constitute environmental nuisances owing to their little or no economic value. However, processing such components into useful reinforcing fillers in concrete and other matrices for composite development encourages a wealth creation from waste, environmental hygiene and ecofriendly materials for engineering applications. This study focuses only on the production of nanoparticles which can be used as fillers in composite development. Nanoparticles were produced from the flamboyant pods using a disc and optimised ball milling technique. Pods were pulverised using a disc miller and the powders obtained were ball milled at varied charge ratios and velocities to produce reinforcing nanoparticles. Particles obtained in each of the milling exercises were analysed and 2 functional interaction response surface model was developed to optimise the milling parameters and particle sizes. Result obtained indicated a decrease in size of the flamboyant pod particles as milling durations and charge ratios increase. P value of the model <0.0001 which is much less than 0.05 shows that the model is significant in explaining dependence of the particle sizes on the milling parameters. Hence, the developed model affirms that a minimum size of 3.5209 nm of the flamboyant pod particles can be obtained without agglomeration of particles when milling at 10 charge ratios for 17 hours 29 minutes